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Through the Storm

Hurricane Sandy was called a super-storm. It was over 1000 miles wide. It started to clouding up our skies in Wheaton, Illinois before the center of the storm had even reached land. We’re over 700 miles away from the coast. It was a storm unlike many others in that it combined with a cold front to produce two and 3 feet of snow in the Appalachian Mountains.

But what Sandy will really be remembered for is the devastation along the coastal areas of New Jersey and New York. There were other damages as well but those are the two main states that were hit. New Jersey in Atlantic City and Seaside in many other localities were devastated. New York City, Long Island, Brooklyn and so forth were inundated with floodwaters unlike anything they have ever seen in history. It will take many days to get things back in working order. It will take many weeks and perhaps many months to get things back to a normal state.

I find it amazing how often we take weather for granted. We assume that the rains will not be so great and the sun will not be so hot and we will live our lives as though that’s the way it’s supposed to be. However then an interlude like Sandy comes along and everything changes. And all we can think about is how can we get back to the way things were before the storm hit.

In some cases we can’t. However in those cases we can move forward into another direction. You can move forward into a new direction. It’s a direction that focuses upon what’s most important anyway. Is our house most important? Are jobs most important? Are the ways we done things most important? Reality what’s most important is God and other people. So often we lose our awareness of what’s truly important in life.

So often we are interested in less important things. Less important things that we give our lives away to those less important things. This is not meant as judgment. Instead it’s meant as encouragement.

Yesterday I saw a picture after picture of the devastation of communities in New Jersey along the shore. Some had two and 3 feet of sand all over people’s lawns and all over thoroughfares. The one thing that I remember that stuck with me was this picture of a double rainbow in the midst of all of the devastation. You could see the first rainbow the was bright but then off to the side there was another. It was a sign . A sign that never again would God destroy the world with water.

Hurricane Sandy did not devastate the entire earth. In fact Sandy did not devastate that much of the eastern seaboard. If you traveled in to New Jersey and into Pennsylvania and so forth there was lots of rain and a good bit of wind but for the most part the damage was not terrible. However where it was terrible it was really horrible.

For those people the reminder of the rainbow is especially important. There is a human resolve and especially in American resole to rebuild to say that we will not be silenced. To say that we will not go away. And I think that’s an important perspective. However I also think that it’s important for us to humbly come to each other and offer and receipt help when we need.

There is strength in such an act. All too often we are willing to help others but we are not willing to receive help from them. In this case my prayers go out to those all of those in New Jersey and New York in the impact sounds may there be a way forward for the rest of the nation to reach out and help of those who are most in need.

May the one who provided the storm and provided the rainbow also provide the means by which we can reach those who have been hurt so much in this time. Even in the midst of the storm there can be inspiration. Even the midst of the storm we can look to the one who has saved us from the storm. May this column inspire you to look at what you can do for the betterment of those who have been impacted.